Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a display device and a method for driving the same, and more particularly, to a dual data driving mode liquid crystal display including a plurality of data driving units.
Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, display devices that are slim and lightweight and have a large-sized screen are in demand for personal computers and televisions. In order to meet such demand, flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been developed and commercialized in various fields such as display devices for computers and televisions in place of cathode-ray tubes (CRTs).
An LCD includes a substrate on which a pixel pattern is formed in a matrix form, a counter substrate, and a liquid crystal material having dielectric anisotropy provided between the substrates. An electric field is applied to between the two substrates, and an amount of light passing through the liquid crystal material is controlled by adjusting strength of the electric field, thus displaying a desired image.
Meanwhile, as the screen size and the resolution of LCDs are being increased, a dual data driving mode has been adopted in which data driving units for driving image data are divided into two groups and disposed, for example, above and below the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a dual data driving mode LCD according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the LCD 10 includes a liquid crystal panel 1 and driving circuits for driving the liquid crystal panel 1. The driving circuits include a first timing control unit 5, a second timing control unit 6, a gate driving unit 2, a first data driving unit 3, and a second data driving unit 4.
In the liquid crystal panel 1, a plurality of gate lines GL and a plurality of data lines DL are formed to cross each other to define a plurality of pixels. A thin film transistor (TFT), a liquid crystal capacitor Clc, and a storage capacitor Cst are formed in each of the pixel regions.
The first timing control unit 5 and the second timing control unit 6 generate a first gate control signal GCS1, a second gate control signal GCS2, a first data control signal DCS1, a second data control signal DCS2, and image data RGB′ from a control signal CNT and an image signal RGB provided from an external system (not shown), and output the generated signals and data.
The gate driving unit 2 generates a gate signal according to the first gate control signal GCS1 provided from the first timing control unit 5 and the second gate control signal GCS2 provided from the second timing control unit 6. The gate signal is sequentially output to the plurality of gate lines GL of the liquid crystal panel 1.
The first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4 are positioned at two sides of the plurality of data lines DL of the liquid crystal panel 1 in a corresponding manner.
The first data driving unit 3 generates a first data signal according to the first data control signal DCS1 and the image data RGB′ provided from the first timing control unit 5. The first data signal is output to one side of the plurality of data lines DL of the liquid crystal panel 1. The second data driving unit 4 generates a second data signal according to the second data control signal DCS2 and the image data RGB′ provided from the second timing control unit 6. The second data signal is output to the other side of the plurality of data lines DL of the liquid crystal panel 1.
As described above, the dual data driving mode LCD 10 according to the related art includes a plurality of data driving units, namely, the first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4 above and below the liquid crystal panel. Here, the first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4 have the same configuration.
Also, circuit boards for mounting peripheral circuits, for example, the first timing control unit 5 and the second timing control unit 6 are disposed above and below the liquid crystal panel and connected to the first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4, respectively, in order to provide control signals and image data to the first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4.
In the related art dual data driving mode LCD 10, the first data driving unit 3 and the second data driving unit 4, which have the same configuration, and the two timing control units 5 and 6, which control the first and second data driving units 3 and 4, are mounted on the circuit boards, which increases the manufacturing cost of the LCD 10.
In addition, an additional control circuit board may be required to control and synchronize the control signals output from the first timing control unit 5 and the second timing control unit 6 mounted on the circuit boards, which may further increase the manufacturing cost.